Many kids have started going back to school and participating in extracurricular activities again in recent weeks. Many schools in the United States have discontinued using public health measures like masks and social separation that were implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. All of this has restored a feeling of normality for children and their families, but it hasn’t been without its share of difficulties, notably an alarming rise in respiratory diseases among young people.
Numerous cases of viral respiratory infection in children, other than coronavirus, have been reported recently at children’s hospitals in major U.S. cities. Symptoms of these infections are similar to the common cold and include a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and fever. These viruses include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), enteroviruses (EV), and rhinovirus (RV).
The winter season is often when these viruses become active. As this is also the peak of respiratory viral season, healthcare facilities and pediatricians are braced for an increase in patients afflicted by such illnesses. This year, however, the season began earlier than usual, and there has been such a dramatic increase in the number of youngsters requiring hospitalization that hospital systems in certain locations are already at capacity.
Some of these respiratory viruses were brought to the attention of public health authorities and pediatricians in September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An increased incidence of pediatric hospitalizations due to severe respiratory infection prompted the FDA to issue a health advice.
The flu season severity during the last two winters was among the lowest ever recorded. In a similar vein, during the winter of 2020-21, when the United States was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak and strong public health restrictions were in place, physicians did not encounter very many cases of RSV. Last summer, however, there was a dramatic increase in RSV as a result of the relaxation of some of these pandemic limitations.
Again this year, respiratory syncytial virus infections are rising earlier than normal, and flu activity has begun to rise in several sections of the nation, especially the Southeast and South Central U.S. As the winter flu season approaches, health professionals warn of a possible COVID-19 outbreak.
These winter respiratory viruses may be harming us more today not because they’ve changed but rather because we’re less immune to them, say researchers.
